The YOUnity Boutique

Style Themes and YOUnity

The fashion world has always relied on archetypal themes such as Classic, Romantic, Natural, Sexy, and many others. These themes are "package deals," combining fashion elements with unity and singleness of effect. Style themes are part of our cultural consciousness and we usually learn them much the same way that we learn to speak our language--by observation and imitation.

You'll recall from Fashion Themes that this technique of unity is an organizing principle that we usually understand intuitively (even though we don't always use it). Just as fine china is clearly out of place at a luau, we know that we cannot create a Romantic look with braided hair, horn rimmed glasses, a plaid flannel shirt, rough blue jeans and heavy hiking boots.

Remember, too, that maintaining unity with a style theme does not require that you choose one theme and stick with it exclusively for the rest of your life. You can wear as many different looks as you choose, but only one at a time. As your moods change, you can choose from many different looks, each of them an integrated composition that says precisely what you want it to say.

It is possible to mix fashion themes successfully, or to add a "twist" of one fashion theme to another; designers do this all the time. Many fashion themes overlap in places, for instance, Glamorous and Dramatic, which share certain characteristics but are nevertheless different. The important thing is to be aware of implicit messages and avoid too many different (or any conflicting) themes in one outfit.

Although fashion magazines tend to focus on the "Sexy" fashion theme, there are many others, each with its own framework of elements, unity, and singleness of effect. When you identify the style themes that resonate with you, you can then create looks with harmony, balance and YOUnity.

We invite you to browse the YOUnity Boutique for examples of ensembles that have unity, and apparel and accessory selections that illustrate the various fashion themes and their variations. When you see one you like, you are well on the way to your personal style... well on the way to YOUnity!